DANVILLE, Ind. — The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office arrested a recently-resigned Danville firefighter on June 20 for a domestic battery charge.
According to court documents, police responded to a disturbance around 4:09 p.m. at a Johnson County residence. There, they found 39-year-old Joseph Gourley — an employee of the Danville Fire Department from July 2023 to his resignation on Saturday — sitting in the front yard, seemingly intoxicated.
Officers from the JCSO reported that they talked to a woman at the scene. She said Gourley rang the doorbell, attempting to make his way into the home on the property.
The woman attempted to keep the door closed, which prompted Gourley to kick it several times, causing it to crack. Court docs indicate that the woman’s struggle to keep the door closed resulted in her receiving marks on her knees, wrist and arm. She did not show any signs of intoxication, according to police reporting on the incident.
When law enforcement questioned Gourley about the incident, he said the woman had assaulted him several times when he tried to enter the house. He alleged he “… pushed his way into the house without putting his hands on her.” Per police records, Gourley said he still had a right to be on the property because of his previous relationship with the woman.
According to court docs, one of the woman’s neighbors told police that Gourley had come to the residence two days in a row. Reportedly, Gourley had swung his arms at the woman, grabbed one of her legs and her arms as if he were trying to pick her up and threatened to throw her off the porch.
JCSO indicated that the woman had an emergency protective order against Gourley, and she instructed he could not be at the residence.
Due to all of this information, an officer arrested Gourley on a domestic battery charge. He was transported to Johnson County Jail without incident, police wrote. JCSO is still investigating the case.
According to previous reporting, a Joseph Lee Gourley was arrested on domestic battery charges in 2023. At the time of his arrest, that Joseph Lee Gourley worked for the Lawrence Fire Department. FOX59 and CBS4 have not confirmed whether or not the Joseph Lee Gourley implicated in last week’s domestic battery incident in Johnson County is the same Joseph Lee Gourley who was arrested on similar charges in 2023.
Comments are closed.